Mini scule | |
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A side view of Mini scule | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Microhylidae |
Subfamily: | Cophylinae |
Genus: | Mini |
Species: | M. scule
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Binomial name | |
Mini scule Scherz et al., 2019[1]
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Known range of Mini scule (yellow pentagon, bottom right) | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Cophyla scule (Dubois et al., 2021) |
Mini scule is a species of microhylid frog endemic to Madagascar that was described in 2019. The scientific name of the species refers to its size, being a pun on the word miniscule (a misspelling of minuscule). It measures only 8.4 to 10.8 mm (0.33 to 0.43 in) in snout–vent length. It has bronze underparts with a brown groin and back of the thigh, cream upperparts with brown flecking, a dark brown side of the head, and a red iris. It is known only from the Sainte Luce Reserve, where it inhabits areas with deep leaf litter near semi-permanent water bodies. Specimens of frogs from Mandena, the Vohimena mountains, the southern Anosy Mountains, and Tsitongambarika may also be of this species. Like other species in the genus Mini, it received media attention when first described due to the wordplay in its scientific name.